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Book 2. characters of themfelves, than fhadows do flying over fields of corn; and the mind is as void of them, as if they had never been there.

§. 5. Thus many of those ideas, which were produced in the minds of children, in the beginning of their fenfation (fome of which perhaps, as of fome pleafures and pains, were before they were born, and others in their infancy) if in the future courfe of their lives they are not repeated again, are quite loft, without the leaft glimpfe remaining of them. This may be obferved in those who by fome mifchance have loft their fight when they were very young, in whom the ideas of colours having been but flightly taken notice of, and ceafing to be repeated, do quite wear out: fo that fome years after there is no more notion nor memory of colours left in their minds, than in thofe of people born blind. The memory of fome, it is true, is very tenacious, even to a miracle but yet there feems to be a conftant decay of all our ideas, even of those which are ftruck deepest, and in minds the most retentive; fo that if they be not. fometimes renewed by repeated exercife of the fenfes, or reflection on thofe kind of objects which at first occafioned them, the print wears out, and at laft there remains nothing to be feen. Thus the ideas, as well as children, of our youth, often die before us: and our minds reprefent to us thofe tombs, to which we are approaching; where though the brass and marble remain, yet the infcriptions are effaced by time, and the imagery moulders away. The pictures drawn in our minds are laid in fading colours, and, if not fometimes refreshed, vanish and disappear. How much the conftitution of our bodies and the make of our animal fpirits are concerned in this, and whether the temper of the brain makes this difference, that in fome it retains the characters drawn on it like marble, in others like free-ftone, and in others little better than fand; I shall not here inquire: though it may feem probable, that the conftitution of the body does fometimes influence the memory; fince we oftentimes find a difeafe quite ftrip the mind of all its ideas, and the flames of a fever in a few days cal

cine all those images to duft and confufion, which feemed to be as lafting as if graved in marble.

Conftantly repeatedideas

can scarce be loft.

In remembering, the

mind is often active.

§. 6. But concerning the ideas themfelves it is easy to remark, that thofe that are ofteneft refreshed (amongst which are those that are conveyed into the mind by more ways than one) by a frequent return of the objects or actions that produce them, fix themselves beft in the memory, and remain cleareft and longeft there: and. therefore thofe which are of the original qualities of bodies, viz. folidity, extenfion, figure, motion, and reft; and those that almoft conftantly affect our bodies, as heat and cold; and those which are the affections of all kinds of beings, as exiftence, duration and number, which almost every object that affects our fenfes, every thought which employs our minds, bring along with them: thefe, I fay, and the like ideas, are feldom quite loft, whilft the mind retains any ideas at all. §. 7. In this fecondary perception, as I may fo call it, or viewing again the ideas that are lodged in the memory, the mind is oftentimes more than barely paffive; the appearance of thofe dormant pictures depending fometimes on the will. The mind very often fets itself on work in fearch of fome hidden idea, and turns as it were the eye of the foul upon it; though fometimes too they ftart up in our minds of their own accord, and offer themselves to the understanding; and very often are roufed and tumbled out of their dark cells into open day-light, by turbulent and tempeftuous paffions: our affections bringing ideas to our memory, which had otherwife lain quiet and unregarded. This farther is to be obferved, concerning ideas lodged in the memory, and upon occafion revived by the mind, that they are not, only (as the word revive imports) none of them new ones; but also that the mind takes notice of them, as of a former impreffion, and renews its acquaintance, with them, as with ideas it had known before. So that though ideas formerly imprinted are not all conftantly in view, yet in remembrance they are conftantly known

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to be fuch as have been formerly imprinted; i. e. in view, and taken notice of before by the understand

ing.

Two defects

in the memory, oblivion and flownefs.

§. 8. Memory, in an intellectual creature, is neceffary in the next degree to perception. It is of fo great moment, that where it is wanting, all the reft of our faculties. are in a great meafure ufelefs and we in our thoughts, reafonings, and knowledge, could not proceed beyond prefent objects, were it not for the affiftance of our memories, wherein there may be two defects.

First, That it lofes the idea quite, and fo far it produces perfect ignorance. For fince we can know nothing farther than we have the idea of it, when that is gone, we are in perfect ignorance.

Secondly, That it moves flowly, and retrieves not the ideas that it has, and are laid up in ftore, quick enough to ferve the mind upon occafion. This, if it be to a great degree, is ftupidity; and he, who, through this default in his memory, has not the ideas that are really preferved there, ready at hand when need and occafion calls for them, were almoft as good be without them quite, fince they ferve him to little purpose. The dull man, who lofes the opportunity whilft he is fecking in his mind for thofe ideas that fhould ferve his turn, is not much more happy in his knowledge than one that is perfectly ignorant. It is the bufinefs therefore of the memory to furnifh to the mind thofe dormant ideas which it has prefent occafion for; in the having them ready at hand on all occafions, confifts that which we call invention, fancy, and quicknefs of parts.

§. 9. These are defects, we may obferve, in the memory of one man compared with another. There is another defect which we may conceive to be in the memory of man in general, compared with fome fuperior created intellectual beings, which in this faculty may fo far excel man, that they may have conftantly in view the whole scene of all their former actions, wherein no one of the thoughts they have ever had may flip out of

their fight. The omnifcience of God, who knows all things, paft, prefent, and to come, and to whom the thoughts of men's hearts always lie open, may fatisfy us of the poffibility of this. For who can doubt but God may communicate to thofe glorious fpirits, his immediate attendants, any of his perfections, in what proportions he pleafes, as far as created finite beings can be capable? It is reported of that prodigy of parts, monfieur Pascal, that till the decay of his health had impaired his memory, he forgot nothing of what he had done, read, or thought, in any part of his rational age. This is a privilege fo little known to moft men, that it feems almoft incredible to thofe, who, after the ordinary way, measure all others by themselves; but yet, when confidered, may help us to enlarge our thoughts towards greater perfection of it in fuperior ranks of fpirits. For this of Mr. Pafcal was ftill with the narrownefs that human minds are confined to here, of having great variety of ideas only by fucceffion, not all at once: whereas the feveral degrees of angels may probably have larger views, and fome of them be endowed with capacities able to retain together, and conftantly fet before them, as in one picture, all their paft knowledge at once. This, we may conceive, would be no fmall advantage to the knowledge of a thinking man, if all his past thoughts and reafonings could be always prefent to him. And therefore we may fuppofe it one of those ways, wherein the knowledge of feparate fpirits may exceedingly furpass ours.

Brutes have

memory.

§. 10. This faculty of laying up and retaining the ideas that are brought into the mind, feveral other animals feem to have to a great degree, as well as man. For to pafs by other instances, birds learning of tunes, and the endeavours one may obferve in them to hit the notes right, put it paft doubt with me, that they have perception, and retain ideas in their memories, and use them for patterns. For it seems to me impoffible, that they fhould endeavour to conform their voices to notes (as it is plain they do) of which they had no ideas. For though I fhould.

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grant found may mechanically caufe a certain motion of the animal fpirits, in the brains of those birds, whilst the tune is actually playing; and that motion may be continued on to the mufcles of the wings, and fo the bird mechanically be driven away by certain noises, because this may tend to the bird's prefervation: yet that can never be supposed a reason, why it should cause mechanically, either whilft the tune is playing, much lefs after it has ceafed, fuch a motion of the organs in the bird's voice, as fhould conform it to the notes of a foreign found; which imitation can be of no ufe to the bird's prefervation. But which is more, it cannot with any appearance of reafon be fuppofed (much lefs proved) that birds, without fenfe and memory, can approach their notes nearer and nearer by degrees to a tune played yesterday; which if they have no idea of in their memory, is no-where, nor can be a pattern for them to imitate, or which any repeated effays can bring them nearer to. Since there is no reafon why the found of a pipe fhould leave traces in their brains, which not at first, but by their after-endeavours, fhould produce the like founds; and why the founds they make themfelves, fhould not make traces which they fhould follow, as well as thofe of the pipe, is impoffible to conceive.

CHA P. XI.

Of Difcerning, and other Operations of the Mind.

No knowledge without difcern

§. 1.

ment.

A

NOTHER faculty we may take notice of in our minds, is that of difcerning and diftinguishing between the feveral ideas it has. It is not enough to have a confufed perception of fomething in general: unless the mind had a diftinct perception of different

objects

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